Top Flight T34 Mentor Engine ?
 

Have a TF T34 Mentor on order. I want to build scale., Flaps, retracts, possibly sliding canopy, pilot, accurate cock pit. The kit is advertised as .60-.90 2 cycle, .90-1.20 4 cycle. I emailed TF support asking about Gas motor recommendations. They replied saying Gas motor not recommended as the design of the plane did not include G motor vibration concerns. I am estimating plane will weigh at or above manufacturers weight of I think of 9-14 pounds. What would you power a plane like this with. I want to fly it scale but want some emergency reserve power. I know glow is a lighter alternative than gas. Just do not know for sure which way to turn. Thanks for any suggestions. John K.

There seems to be a great shortage of information on the power needed for the T 34 mentor... I do NOT know why.

However; a good replacement for a 120 four stroke engine is the DLE 20cc Gas engine - I have been using one in my Extra 300 for five years and it is a work of art! You may want to consider it as a viable choice.

Look up information and build threads on the Bonanza. The airframe is very similar to the T-34.

Again, you were told correctly. The airplane was designed with glow in mind because there were no gasoline engines available at the time. There is no provision in the design for the higher level of vibration normally associated with gasoline engine operation.

When built as intended within the weight specifications, an engine within the specified size range will fly the airplane quite capably.

I am currently building the Top-Flite T-34 and powering it with a DLE20-RA. I installed the engine inverted but of course that created other issues. As my plane will have fixed landing gear, I had to move the nose gear back nearly to the firewall. Also, the throttle and choke linkages will need a little engineering to get acceptable results. Keep in mind if you want to operate the choke with a servo, add an optical kill switch and flaps, you will need 7 channels on your radio. All said, if I had to do it over, I would probably choose a 4 stroke glow engine, mounted sideways. Hope this helps.

DaveB

I am using an O.S. 95AX in mine, plenty of power, even for a 13Lbs airframe. Besides the vibration issues its the cantilevered nose wheel that limits engine choice. I had the Bonanza several years ago and powered it with Saito 1.50. If I were to build another I would consider electric power.